Lazurite
by frescoes
Summary: A set of unconnected drabbles about a mentor and his pupil. S80.
1. I'll kill you

Katekyo Hitman REBORN! (because CAPS is sexy) does not belong to me. Neither do any of the characters. Etc. etc.

* * *

Squalo slid down against the wall. His black Varia uniform was covered in dark red blood which was dripping down his face at a fast rate. Breathing heavily, he reached for his fake arm that had broken off during the fight. Unfortunately for him, his sword had been shattered as well.

Picking up the prosthetic limb up with his real hand, he examined the damage. Two fingers had broken off, three were crooked and the whole thing was cracked in places.

_Grande Pioggia Squalo_, his box weapon, lay a few feet in front of him. It thrashed around wildly like a dead fish; the shark was lying upside down. With great difficulty, Squalo reached into his pants' pocket and brought his box out. He returned the shark to its box. He bit back a sigh.

Groaning, he touched the blood on his face. There was a huge cut on his forehead that hurt like hell. Squalo closed his eyes.

_What a pansy way to die, _he thought. _Just sitting here like some old fool. _

But he was an old fool. An old fool who had lived for much too long. Assassins like him were expected to die off quickly. XANXUS would easily replace him, it wasn't like the scarred man cared for whether he lived or died. He would find a better person to do his job too.

Squalo snorted at his self-pity. _Damn, I never wanted a slow death either._

The man was going numb from all the blood loss. Blood dripping down his head and eyes didn't make the situation any better either, but he didn't have enough energy to staunch the constant bleeding now.

His stump had also been badly cut. Squalo snorted at the irony. And his ankle was sprained_. Perfect._ Squalo thought. He gazed idly at the wall. His vision was starting to get blurry and red.

A few minutes later, Squalo's head burst into pain and he hissed loudly. _Sh-Shit... _He squeezed his eyes shut and held his stump of an arm tightly.

"**SQUALO!**"

Squalo's eyes snapped open and he almost swerved his head to see who it was before he remembered the pain. "What?" he groaned. Now he was hearing things. Was he going to die soon? About time.

"Yo-you're... _hurt_," Yamamoto Takeshi ran up to his mentor, Superbi Squalo. The boy assessed the older man's situation. He needed immediate medical attention right away. "I--"

"Save it, brat. Look, if you're only here to ogle at me, then leave." Squalo said with a grimace. Too bad he wasn't going to die yet.

He also had to keep up his tough rep in front of the katana-brat now.

Yamamoto's eyes softened. "I'm here to help."

"Why aren't you with Reborn and the other brats?" Squalo asked while Yamamoto knelt down and started wrapping a cloth around Squalo's head. A ripped sleeve from his shirt, to be exact.

"Oh, I wanted to see if you were okay. I want to help." Yamamoto finished tying the cloth around the man's head and put an arm around him in order to lift him up.

"Ow! The hell, brat! My ankle!" Squalo yelped. His vision was still blurry, but the pseudo tourniquet around his head helped, though only a little.

"Sorry, Squalo. I'll try to be more gentle." Yamamoto assured him with a smile. They started walking (well, Squalo limping) towards the entrance.

_Gentle? Is this brat serious?! _Squalo glared at the kid. "I don't need your help," he said. "I wouldn't need help from a brat like you."

Yamamoto only smiled again, this time even more serenely.

"I'm sure, Squalo. But it sure looks like you need some help now, ha ha!" Squalo chose to ignore him. He would get back at him another time.

Yamamoto glanced over to Squalo. He studied the other male's features. Long, silky hair and a very thin body. Yamamoto wondered if he was able to pick up weights easily. _Probably. He's an assassin! And he's much stronger than he looks. _Yamamoto chuckled to himself.

Suddenly, Squalo yelled in pain and fell down. Yamamoto caught him before that, however.

"Squalo! What happened?" Yamamoto asked in a concerned voice. Squalo cried hoarsely. "My foot..." he trailed off. Yamamoto sat him down and removed Squalo's boot. His socks came off after. Around Squalo's foot was a large swelling, purple bruise. It would take some time to heal.

Yamamoto knew Squalo couldn't possibly walk now; but the young boy had an idea.

"I'll carry you!" Yamamoto said brightly. "Don't worry, you'll be alright soon, Squalo. I _promise_."

Squalo could only gape at the honest fool as he was carefully placed atop the boy's shoulder (Squalo was much to tired to fight. Not to mention bleeding. Bad combination). His eyes narrowed.

"_I'll kill you_."

* * *


	2. wait for another time

Katekyo Hitman Reborn! never has and never will belong to me. Characters belong to Amano Akira and JUMP!. May contain spoilers for speshul moves.

* * *

**1:50 PM**

**

* * *

**Grabbing his sword, Yamamoto ran out of his room. He was excited to hear from Squalo again; the last time he had seen the man was in their almost future, where the Squalo from ten years later had trained him to face the Millefiore. Although training had been short, Yamamoto had learned some valuable lessons from the older swordsman.

Simple things like his dodging, blocking and thrusting had been closely analyzed by Squalo. His Shigure Soen style had been modified slightly as well. He had also received his new box weapons, Jirou and Koujirou. Learning two new attacks (Scontro di Rondine and Beccata di Rondine) helped a lot, not to mention, his latest form called _Jiunoka_. He knew that he still had to work on his swordsmanship skills, though.

Yamamoto dashed downstairs and greeted his father. "Takeshi, where are you running to now?" Tsuyoshi asked, his eyes still on the fish he was cutting.

"I'm, err... going to meet a friend, dad. An _old _friend," Yamamoto said. He tried to make sure his sword was hidden behind him, but Tsuyoshi saw it after a quick glance. "Taking the sword with you? What's going on, Takeshi?"

"Well, my friend has a particular interest in katanas..." Yamamoto trailed off, not knowing how to complete the lie. However, Tsuyoshi smiled and said, "Interesting friend you've got there. Maybe you can bring them by our shop today. Did you tell that person about the Shigure Soen Ryu?" Yamamoto smiled.

"Yeah, they know all about it, dad. And I will try to bring them here. See ya!" With that, the young man ran out the door. Tsuyoshi sighed. Yamamoto sure was becoming different.

* * *

**2:00 PM**

* * *

"Squalo!" was the first thing Yamamoto yelled out when he saw said long-haired man at the park.

Said male was sitting on a bench, looking bored as usual. The warm summer sun made his silver hair shine more than ever.

"VOOOIII! What took you so long, brat?" Squalo snarled. He got up and walked towards Yamamoto.

Yamamoto grinned. "I'm sorry, Squalo. Your call came kinda late." Squalo's eyes narrowed to slits. "That's no excuse! You should have been expecting me. We have to work on your moves!"

"I know, Squalo." Yamamoto said earnestly. "I want to learn. I want to become more powerful for my friends. _And _myself."

Squalo smirked. "Given up baseball yet, brat?"

"I haven't. I'm not prepared to, not yet. Maybe I will in the future, but definitely not now." Yamamoto's normally kind brown eyes turned hard and serious. "But _I _believe I can do both at the same time, Squalo. I can dedicate myself to both the sword and baseball. To both the mafia game and my own life."

After saying this, he looked up at Squalo—hoping for some sort of approval from his loud, crass mentor.

Squalo stared at the boy incredulously. He felt a vein pop on his head. What the hell was he on? "VOOOIII! You damn annoying brat! You listen here, you can't do both things. You pick _only _one, and you know which one to pick—the sword. The mafia game? How did you get that into your head? That future was no game, you fool. It could have happened, and the Vongola would have been exterminated. Meaning a_ll _of us would have been dead."

Yamamoto's gaze did not falter. "I know, Squalo. I'm not stupid. Also, that's not how it turned out. I know I can do both, Squalo. Just give me a chance to prove it to you."

Squalo considered Yamamoto's words. The boy thought he could do both. The boy thought he could kill people and play baseball. _Baseball_. The entire stupidity of the whole situation pissed Squalo off. A lot. How could he, _how could he--_at that moment, a zillion thoughts forced themselves into Squalo's mind. He only entertained one.

Letting out his signature battle-cry, Squalo readied his sword and jumped back. He ignited his Rain Flame. "We're going to settle this once and for all, brat! GET READY!"

Yamamoto stared, surprised. He was also a little disappointed that Squalo hadn't given him a straightforward answer. Yamamoto was dead sure that he could do both. Besides, wasn't life just one game after another?

"Right now? All right then." He removed the Shigure Kintoki from its' sheath. He wondered if it was a good idea to fight in a public park.

He looked around. It seemed deserted, so why not?

"Zanna di Squalo!" and Squalo charged at him, sword whipping around in all directions. Yamamoto just barely managed to get out of his way before an 'Attaco di Squalo' was launched.

Sweat ran down the boy's face.

"Tiring so quickly, brat?" Squalo sneered as he appeared on Yamamoto's left, seemingly out of nowhere. Yamamoto had been caught off-guard.

"Take this!"

Squalo dealt a crushing blow to Yamamoto's back. The boy fell to the ground. Fortunately, Squalo had used the back side of his sword, so Yamamoto wasn't bleeding.

But the blow had still _hurt_. What hurt even more was the fact that Yamamoto hadn't been able to read Squalo's movements in the first place. Was he back to square one again?

Squalo's shadow loomed over Yamamoto. "Get up." Squalo ordered.

Yamamoto didn't move.

"GET UP YOU DAMN BRAT!" Squalo screeched loudly. Birds flew from behind him and into the darkening sky. Face on the ground, Yamamoto grit his teeth.

It was true; he was weak. Being brought down so easily reflected that.

Kneeling down, Squalo grabbed the back of Yamamoto's head with a gloved hand and forced the boy's face to look at his.

"You have a lot to learn, kid. And I'm going to teach you. Provided that you're willing to follow the sword and _only _the sword. Are you prepared?" He released his hold on Yamamoto's hair.

Yamamoto got up slowly. Facing Squalo, his now dull brown eyes moved upwards to meet the older man's face. "Yes, I am."

He walked to where the Shigure Kintoki lay.

"Hn." Squalo's crazy grin grew large. "Just so you know, I won't go easy on you. It's going to be difficult. You ready?"

Yamamoto looked down at his sword. He wondered what his dad felt like when he was holding it. Pride? Power? Either way, Yamamoto did not want to bring shame to the Shigure Soen style, or his family's name. He would have to work hard and give it all he had. He also had to prove to Squalo that he could play baseball and practice the sword.

"Ready."

Clutching his sword tightly with a determined expression on his face, Yamamoto awaited Squalo's first move.

There was no place for doubt in his mind anymore.

* * *

**8:36 PM**

* * *

"What kind of food is this?!" Squalo yelled, waving around his chopsticks. He glared at the plate in front of him, silently seething.

"It's shark." Yamamoto smiled. Squalo only turned his glare towards the boy. "I don't like shark" was all Squalo said as he pushed the food away from himself.

"Err... okay, then."

Yamamoto took the dish and walked to the kitchen. "Why don't you like shark?" He called over his back merrily.

"None of your business! Now get me some real food, dammit all!" Squalo yelled back. Yamamoto came back, staring at him quizzically. "Real food? What do you mean, Squalo?"

Squalo sighed, exasperated. "Some pasta! I can't stomach this Japanese nonsense! Whatever, I'm leaving." Getting up, he headed for the door.

Yamamoto ran after him. "Hey, wait, Squalo! Where are you going?" He asked the man as he walked out. "None of your business," Squalo responded. "Later."

Yamamoto stared at his disappearing back in disbelief. The other swordsman was leaving so soon? Yamamoto had honestly wanted the man to stay, even a little so he could meet his father, who was catering tonight.

They could have even talked about other stuff... like the mafia. What it was all about. Secretly, Yamamoto really wanted to learn a bit about Squalo's past. The mafiosi intrigued him very much, and he wanted to know how and why he took up the sword in the first place.

But that would have to wait for another time, in another place.

* * *


End file.
